Reading the signs
by who-knows-what
Summary: Teen dramas for my fav BFF's as they each start finding out how falling in love isn't a straightforward process...My explanation of some gaps in S1 storyline for Kurt and Mercedes. Introduces Blaine early and generally messes with canon timeline.
1. Chapter 1

Arranging themselves on the risers the visiting students quietly filed into the choir room, facing the already assembled New Directions. Members of both groups briefly exchanged looks of mutual curiosity, while Mr Schue and Haverbrook's teacher began a loud conversation over by the piano. As the teachers conversation carried on some of the Haverbrook students turned to each other exchanging hand signals. This was met with varying responses from the New Directions members. Kurt rolled his eyes when he heard Finn whisper to Mike that maybe it was some kind of secret code. He also heard Britt' say it looked like magic and that she thought maybe they had come from Hogwarts. This confusion was to be expected from Britt, and Finn certainly had his moments, so it wasn't entirely unexpected. The others responses were varied however, from outright curiosity from Mercedes, to suspicion from Rachael, and indifference from Puck and Santana.

Continuing to watch everyone with interest, Kurt now and again darted his eyes over various members of the other school group. He was impressed with their formal uniform, observing details in the tailoring and cut of the garments. But it didn't take long for his interest to also be drawn by the motions of the student's hands and faces as they communicated. A couple of times he would catch someone's eye, smiling shyly as he tried to keep his observations as polite as possible. Although he fought it, his curiosity kept getting the better of him.

Trying to distract himself from his observations Kurt turned and whispered to Mercedes. "What song do you think they will choose?" Mercedes met Kurt's eye, giving a non-committal answer. Their combined efforts to distract one another was failing completely, as the distracted pair fidgeted in their seats. Playing with their phones in further efforts to rein in their out of control curiosity didn't appear to help much either, as soon enough they were both back to stealing fascinated glances across the room.

When the two teachers seemed to have concluded their confusing conversation the Haverbrook teacher took his seat at the piano and waved his hand and stomped his foot a couple of times to get their attention. The hearing impaired students took notice quickly and returned to their places in the formation, ready to begin the performance. Mr Schue then stepped forward and made his formal introduction of the Haverbrook choir and ended his welcome with a nod to the teacher at the piano.

The teacher began playing and immediately there was a murmur and nods of approval from some of New Directions who recognized the famous John Lennon tune "Imagine". As it came to the vocals one of the male students began to speak-sing the lyrics to the song in time with his class mates' signs. The boy's voice was somewhat flat sounding and was a bit broken in places, but at the same time Mercedes felt that this added to the power of the lyrics, bringing out the poetry in the words.

Meeting the boy's eyes she felt a pull on her heart, and before she knew what she was doing she began to sing. Her powerful and rich voice instantly caught the attention of her classmates, it wasn't often they heard her voice unaccompanied. Her classmates, except for Kurt, looked on as Mercedes stood from her chair and took a spot beside the boy. Her voice rose and blended with his words adding to the powerful performance, smoothing the sound. She again looked to the boy beside her, receiving a warm smile. She then looked to his hands and began trying to copy the fluid movements and shapes they made.

Gradually the New Directions members rose from their seats, in ones and twos, dispersing amongst the Haverbrook students and adding their voices to the existing melody. They were all trying with varying levels of success to copy the hand movements of the deaf students. In a moment of rare unity and perfect timing the New Directions spontaneously joined their voices to create a seamless harmony for the song. Each of the teens who were so frequently at odds had at least temporarily found a collective peace.

Before they knew it the song had come to an end and everyone was applauding in one way or another. Mr Schuester looked on proudly as his class moved amongst the other group shaking hands and some still trying to get the movements right with corrections from the Haverbrook students. It seemed like at least this performance had been a success, possibly in more ways than one.

Gradually most of the New Directions drifted out of the class after the bell rang. But as he looked around Mr Schuester noticed that Tina, Mike, Kurt and Mercedes were still hanging around and were engaged in various conversations with the other schools students. Smiling he turned back to Mr Rumba, Haverbrook's choir teacher to finish trying to clear up their earlier misunderstanding.

Tina waved goodbye to the two students she had stood between during the performance and went to join Mike at the back of the room, where he was moving about with a couple of the deaf students exchanging dance steps. Crossing the room she looked around to see that some of the students had taken a seat on the risers and looked to be in animated conversations, judging by their bright smiles and enthusiastic hand movements. Mercedes seemed to have found a seat with the boy she had approached during the song and was looking content. While Kurt stood at the other end of the room with several other Haverbrook students clustered around a notebook, absorbed in writing or drawing something. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who had enjoyed this experience and was taking the opportunity to socialize. Even if there were some challenges, it looked like everyone was managing in their own way.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting together with her friends at lunch several weeks later Mercedes brought up the subject of the Haverbrook students again. She had been making an effort to keep these references casual not wanting the others to tease her. But her 'subtle' comments and changes to her behavior had become more and more obvious recently. Kurt suspected there was more to this then Mercedes was letting on. He was sure it had something to do with the handsome guy Mercedes had been cozy with after their song. But he abandoned this train of thought temporarily and tuned back in to the conversation.

"I was just thinking the other day that it would be really cool to give learning sign language a go..." Mercedes said in an effort to sound casual, but despite her intentions the underlying enthusiasm seeped in. "Who knows, it might come in handy if we have to go out on one of Rachael's choir spy mission or if we want to talk in class and not get busted by the teacher for passing notes or…."

"That's sounds like a good idea" Tina piped up, cutting short Mercedes rambling. "I'm not so worried about the talking in class but I would like to be able to talk easier with the people from Haverbrook when we see them at the competition. It was fun last time but it was kinda hard work."

"Yeah, I'm keen" Mike chimed in. "Some of those guys that I talked to want to practice dance with me. Even though some of them could hear me pretty well, it would be great to at least know some basics. Who knows, maybe I can use some of the moves in an interpretive dance piece" he finished with a grin.

Mercedes turned to Kurt. "What about you? Are you in?"

"Sure, why not. It might come in handy one day if Dad goes deaf from all that loud rock music he plays at the garage." Kurt replied wrinkling his nose in distaste at his Dads choice of music. "Do you have a place in mind where we can take classes?" he asked Mercedes.

"Well not a class exactly," Mercedes replied, avoiding eye contact with her friends. "More like someone... Its the guy who I talked to at the performance the other week, I said it might be cool to learn some signs and he offered... His name is Marcus."

Kurt and Tina both took notice of Mercedes bashful behavior and exchanged a meaningful glance across the table. Mike continued happily eating his lunch, unaware of any extra significance to this conversation.

Lunch proceeded as Kurt and Tina poked Mercedes for more information about this guy Marcus but all she would tell them was that they had been IM-ing and texting each other over the last few weeks. She also confessed to wanting to be able to hang out with him more face to face and that she had thought sign language lessons would be a good excuse and also make communication easier. By the end of lunch she had also made arrangements for them all to meet up with Marcus after school on Friday to begin their lessons.

* * *

Everyone who had agreed to be part of the lessons met up at a prearranged location after school on Friday. It was a quiet café that none of the McKinley students had been to before. As Tina and Mike entered they spotted Mercedes and Kurt sitting with Marcus and another guy who they assumed was from the same school, all had drinks in front of them. Catching Mercedes eye they smiled and waved. Mercedes responded, causing Marcus, Kurt and the other guy to do the same. Tina pointed up to the counter and received another smile and nod from the seated group before they turned back to their conversation.

After they had collected their orders Mike and Tina joined the group sitting at the large booth seat. Mercedes introduced everyone to Marcus and the other guy Steven. Marcus then told them a bit about himself and explained that he was only partially deaf but that it was easiest to communicate in sign, as it avoided confusion. He also explained that both he and Steven used lip reading to help them understand what people were saying if they couldn't sign. They said this also wasn't totally accurate but could help them have some idea of what was going on or what was being said, just as reading body language and facial expressions helped a little bit. After further explanations about sign language and helping to fix some misunderstandings about their deafness the group started their lesson.

Marcus and Steven worked with two of the others each, getting them to copy what they demonstrated and then practiced asking and answering things of each other. There was frequent laughter and embarrassment on the part of the McKinley students as they continued to fumble, but by the end of their hour together they were beginning to get the basics reasonably accurate. At one point Kurt started using his phone camera to record the signs so he could practice them at home later.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks' things continued to go well, with the McKinley students meeting up with Marcus and Steven or another of his friends who helped them practice. Kurt noticed that Mercedes always tried to seat herself near Marcus and have contact with him if possible. This was made difficult for her as Marcus generally encouraged them to sit opposite him or his friend who was teaching them to make it easier to understand what was being said, whether in sign or speech.

Waiting by Mercedes locker, Kurt kept an eye out for his friend as they usually met together between classes. Looking around he saw her working her way through the crowd, he noticed that she had her head down and didn't seem to be paying much attention to her surroundings. All of the signals Kurt was picking up from Mercedes screamed 'Something is up, help!'. Stepping away from the lockers, he moved toward her and reached out a reassuring arm which he looped through hers, pulling her close. For a moment she appeared to try keeping her distance, but as Kurt stroked her arm, she released the tension in huff and snuggled into his side. This reaction caused Kurt to look Mercedes over with concern as they continued down the hallway.

Seeing tears shimmering in her eyes he turned her toward the exit.

"Come with me" he said, directing her with his arm around her. He led them both out to the car park and opened the door to his car. "Let's have a quiet chat" he suggested, settling into his seat. Kurt took a moment to fiddle with his radio settings as an excuse to observe Mercedes mood and body language further. It definitely seemed as though something was up, she sat hugging her satchel on her knee as she stared down at her feet. Usually she would be the first to talk; in fact often it was hard to quiet Mercedes down when she was on a roll, suggesting song choices or talking about some school event or the latest scandal on their favorite show. But today she was surrounded by glum silence.

It seemed this wasn't going to be a simple bad hair day situation, so Kurt straightened up from his deliberation over the radio, clearing his throat.

"How about we head back to my place, watch a movie and eat some cookie dough? I've got some choc chip mixture left from my baking yesterday." Kurt suggested brightly, in the hopes of getting a response. Neither a confirmation nor refusal was offered so he started the car and headed out on the road to his house.

The continued silence really began to worry him as the minutes passed so he ventured another try at getting Mercedes to open up.

"What's bothering you boo? I haven't seen you this quiet since your favorite contestant got kicked off Project Runway…" he joked lamely.

Mercedes just shrugged noncommittally and turned to look out the window. As she did this a new song started on the stereo, the theme song from Dirty Dancing.

_"__Now I had the time of my life and I owe it all to you…."_

As the song progressed Mercedes voice softly echoed the lyrics all the while she continued to avoid eye contact with Kurt and kept looking out the window.

_"__We saw the writing on the wall as we felt this magical fantasy…"_

When the song came to an end Kurt just heard a faint sniffle from Mercedes and he chanced a look at her again. Throughout the song he had remained silent, focusing on the road and just giving Mercedes some time after her obvious reluctance to talk. But when he looked at her now he saw tear tracks coursing down her cheeks. This gave his conscience the push to try reaching out to her again.

"Hey now, what's wrong, you're really starting to worry me?" Kurt asked again, a strong sense of worry and concern coloring his words as he reached over to lay one hand over hers.

This time Mercedes did turn to face him, her eyes continuing to overflow with tears that continued to spill, she looked heart broken, nothing like her usual confident and sassy persona. "He doesn't love me!" she blurted.

"Who are you talking about sweetie?" Kurt asked, although he had his suspicions.

"Marcus…" came the broken reply. At this confession she began to sob in earnest.

Kurt rubbed her hand reassuringly until he found a spot to pull off the road. Once they were safely parked he turned and pulled her into a hug. "Tell me what happened, I'm all ears. Surely things can't be so bad". He comforted, rubbing her back.

Eventually the flood of tears lessened and Mercedes sat back and explained what had happened in the last few weeks.

"From that first day when he performed I felt like there was some sort of connection between us, it was like I was drawn to him... For a while I tried to convince myself I was just curious about him and wanted to get to know him and to connect with him. But as we spent more time hanging out and I learned more about him I realized that I couldn't avoid what I was feeling anymore….. That's why I was so keen to learn sign, so I could talk to him properly and explain…."

* * *

Kurt pulled the park brake on the Navigator as he drew up outside his house. After her out pouring of tears, Mercedes had fallen into a trance like state. It was obvious she was not capable of much right now. Walking around the car to Mercedes door he helped his zombie-like friend out of her seat and up the stairs to his front door. Unloading both of their bags off his shoulder by the door, he then led Mercedes to the sofa where she flopped down amongst a pile of cushions before he headed into the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfy and I'll get the cookie dough," Kurt called from the kitchen as he rummaged through the fridge. "I'm also breaking out the hard stuff," he joked, adding two tall glasses of milk to the tray of comfort foods. Entering the living room, Kurt took note of Mercedes continued air of depression as she sat huddled amongst a pile of pillows on the sofa.

"Times like these call for a classic movie pick-me-up! What are you in the mood for?" Kurt asked, in an attempt to pull Mercedes out of her trance.

"I don't care," she huffed after a pause, reaching over to grab a heaped spoonful of cookie dough.  
"Okay, how about...hmmmm... 'The Notebook'? Life always feels better after watching a hottie like Ryan Gosling….", he ventured. When there was no sign of disagreement from Mercedes Kurt hit play on the DVD remote. Grabbing some cookie dough and settling back into the cushions he was quickly absorbed by the familiar plot.

Part way through the movie, Kurt broke from his emotion-induced haze to notice Mercedes was not being distracted by the movie, as he had been. Instead, she was staring intently at her cell phone and mindlessly shovelling cookie dough into her mouth. The final words that Kurt heard was Allie shouting at Noah, "Why didn't you write me…" as he went to mute the movie. Turning, he looked seriously at Mercedes.

"It's time you tell me what's really going on here. Things must be really serious if you aren't enjoying Ryan Gosling with me right now."

"I… I don't know... I don't know how I got it so wrong. I mean, everything seemed to be going great. We had so much fun when we talked. He was always so friendly and charming, I thought he liked me?" Mercedes whined.

...

The anticipation stirred in Mercedes' stomach as she sat in front of her computer, waiting impatiently for Marcus to appear. A flashing window popped up to alert her to Marcus's arrival.

_Marcus: Hi, how was your day?_

_ Mercedes: Hey, things are pretty good. It's been great meeting with you __:)_

_ Marcus: Yes everyone's been making great progress. How's your study going? Are you practicing your sign language?_

_ Mercedes: Yeah I've been practicing but I'm still not that good. Maybe I need more help….?_

_ Marcus: If you're having trouble remembering maybe you should talk to Kurt? I noticed he's been recording our sessions. _

_ Mercedes: Oh yeah, okay. _

_ Marcus: Sorry I have to go. See you at the café next week __:)_

_ ..._

The confusion and hurt from that day came up and Mercedes started to sniffle again, curling up close to Kurt for comfort. As the end of the movie neared, the two friends had talked themselves to a standstill. Things hadn't really changed in terms of finding an answer to Mercedes' confusion, but Kurt was already forming a resolution to get some answers on his best friend's behalf. He hated seeing her so miserable. With an empty snack try between them and a comfortable silence settled the teens returned their attention to the movie. Watching the closing scene of the star-crossed lovers dieing in each others arms Kurt and Mercedes both sniffled sentimentally, wrapped in their own thoughts, but seemingly at peace.

When Mercedes left Kurt's house after their afternoon of comforting snacks and talk, although she hadn't shaken her gloominess she felt somewhat reassured that her life wasn't over. Kurt, however, had plans to make. Considering Mercedes injured feelings, his sense of protectiveness for his best friend had him feeling annoyance and betrayal on his girls' behalf. He decided that the situation could not be left how it was with so many questions unanswered between Mercedes and Marcus. During their chat on the sofa, Kurt had a strong feeling the situation wasn't a simple case of disinterest by Marcus, but until it was resolved he felt there wouldn't be any peace for any of them. Inspired by the epic romance of their movie choice, Kurt began his efforts to track down Marcus for a conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

Pulling up in the Haverbrook School for the Deaf parking lot, Kurt reviewed his plans for tracking down Marcus. After listening to so much of Rachel's paranoid babbling about researching your competition to keep the advantage, Kurt had picked up a thing or two. He grabbed his satchel and straightened his jacket as he strolled up the front path and into the main entrance. He acted as confidently as he could, attempting to blend in to the flow of students in the hallway as he sought out his target. Upon hearing the notes from a piano, he changed his course to follow the tune of what was most definitely a song from the Beatles. _It seems like the Beatles is a running theme for Haverbrook, or maybe just Marcus' favorite_ Kurt thought. Entering the school's music room he spotted Marcus standing by the piano, as a curly haired boy sat playing.

"_There will be an answer_

_ Let it be…"_

_ "Let it be, let it be,_

_ Let it be, let it be"_

_ "Speaking words of wisdom_

_ Let it be…""_

Marcus' voice seemed to tremble even more as it came to the close of the song. Looking up he blinked out of his emotional state, seeing Kurt standing in the doorway of his classroom was somewhat confusing but he was more concerned by the angry look Kurt focused on him. At Marcus's surprised expression the boy at the piano looked over his shoulder to see what was going on.

"Kurt? What are you doing here?" Marcus signed with a puzzled look on his face.

"We need to talk about Mercedes," Kurt replied, somewhat slowly but with determination, as he tried to remember the correct signs and expressions.

Realising that this conversation seemed to be of a private nature the boy turned back to the keys and started gathering the sheet music.

"I don't know what's been going on with you two, but there's a problem now because something to do with you has got her really sad and confused. That means you and I have issues too." Kurt continued, every so often lapsing into speech as he struggled to recall signs.

"Why should she be confused? She is the one who doesn't want to spend time with me," Marcus shot back defensively.

Turning briefly, Marcus signed farewell to the boy at the piano before stepping towards Kurt and leading him out the door to continue the conversation elsewhere.

Marcus nudged Kurt through some doors into a deserted court yard, where Kurt turned an accusing look toward Marcus. Both boys regarded each other as two gun fighters preparing to duel. Each seems to feel that their grievance made them the justified party and now it was the showdown to see who would break the deadlock first. Kurt's natural urge to express his thoughts won out, "Why have you been avoiding Mercedes?" his hands slowly and awkwardly trying to match his agitated spoken words. Marcus's look of utter confusion led Kurt to repeat himself with greater emphasis and a rising feeling of annoyance at Marcus's cluelessness to the situation.

With a determined wave of his arm Marcus interrupted Kurt's flow of words and sign. "I know what you are saying; I just don't know what you mean. I think Mercedes has misread the signs". As Kurt absorbed the double meaning of this and the irony of the words a smile played across his face breaking the tense atmosphere. _Glad to hear that _Kurt signed back with a cheeky smile. As the tension continued to decrease the two boys took a companionable seat together on a nearby bench to continue resolving the situation. Now that the heat of the moment had passed both the boys found it much easier to communicate and be understood by each other.


	5. Chapter 5

Kurt called Mercedes that weekend and spent some time comforting her in her, but eventually he decided it was time to get things moving.

"Let's go hang out at the park, we haven't been there in ages. Some sunshine and fresh air will do your mood some good, I'll even put my complexion on the line for the sake of helping you cheer up.."

Unfortunately Mercedes had fallen back into a serious 'poor me' mood. This involved indulging in chocolate, hours of daytime T.V and staying in pajamas on the sofa all day, which really Kurt would normally have been more than happy to join in with but this time around it was not going to be allowed to continue. Eventually Kurt's "friendly persistence" and a not so idle threat to burn her favorite black and gold jacket if she wouldn't come out with him won her over.

* * *

Sitting under a tree at their favorite picnic table Kurt and Mercedes were engaged in idle chit chat, with Kurt occasionally taking sly glances at the time on his phone sitting on the table at his side. The bright sunshine and fresh air seemed to have lightened Mercedes mood which Kurt took as a positive sign for what was to come.

The two friends laughed together after recounting a funny incident involving Finn's epic klutziness at a recent rehearsal. Kurt's hilarity suddenly calmed but was replaced by an expectant grin as he spotted a familiar figure approaching from the car park. Mercedes eyes widened in shock when she looked around and recognized who it was, Marcus reached the table and took a seat at Kurt's side. Immediately Mercedes went to get up to leave with a look of betrayal and sadness on her face. But before she could rise from her seat, Marcus's hand shot out to grab her wrist. At the same time Kurt started a rambling flood of words, trying to stop her from leaving. After a momentary pause Mercedes sank stiffly back down onto the seat and Marcus's grip relaxed, but he left his hand next to where her hand rested on the table.

"What the hell Kurt?" Mercedes snapped, sounding full of indignation.

Kurt went to reply but Marcus held up his hand to halt the anticipated torrent of words.

...

Random images and pieces of conversation were ricocheting around Mercedes head as her agitation and suspicions seemed justified. All her doubts about Marcus' feelings towards her had found a basis in this moment of his appearance at Kurt's side. Suddenly all the small things that she had over looked or ignored in her infatuation seemed to make sense. Everything pointed to the conclusion that he was more interested in Kurt and his ability to communicate so easily with him, rather than dealing with her awkwardness.

Mercedes thought that she had come to at least partially accept that Marcus wasn't interested in her romantically, which had hurt a lot after their initial spark. But it hurt more than she had expected that her place had been filled by Kurt in Marcus' eyes. The feeling of betrayal, that both of these boys who she felt so close to, had not been honest with her about their feelings for each other stung, particularly after she had been so obvious with her own emotions.

...

Speech interrupted Mercedes spiraling emotional thoughts. Kurt started speaking for Marcus at the pace of his signs, as they continued in this way Kurt's volume moderated, as Mercedes distraction and tension decreased. "Mercedes' I need you to understand something. I know we have had problems communicating but I want to be able to connect with you and get to know you. I do really like you."

Mercedes sighed and her shoulders sagged in the realization that this was her moment of receiving the _'we are just friends'_ speech. Marcus' concerned expression was reflected on Kurt's face, accompanied by his classic huff of exasperation. There was a pause in Kurt's dialogue directed at Mercedes as he fired a brief string of signs at Marcus. There were a couple of hand gestures that Mercedes thought she recognized, but they didn't make sense in this already confusing situation.

"I know you guys are together, I just can't believe you didn't tell me, Kurt. Especially after all of the stuff I've told you." She stated with a sense of wounded pride.

At this point Kurt started laughing hysterically to the point of nearly falling off his seat, while Marcus shook his head slowly in wonder at this misunderstanding.

"No, no, that's not what we said" Kurt gasped out as the laughter trailed off. Marcus broke in saying "I like you Mercedes".

"Yeah, yeah I get that we are just friends. I just wish you had told me before." This time both boys exchanged exasperated looks before Kurt commenced speaking.

"Seriously Mercedes I think you're the one that's deaf. Give Marcus a chance and _hear _what he's saying". Kurt continued on speaking.

Mercedes confused expression cleared when Kurt subtly pointed her attention towards Marcus, as Kurt moderated his pace to a more steady rhythm while translating Marcus' stream of signs. When Kurt spoke the words '_I do actually like you'_ a brilliant smile lit up Mercedes face, as she heard these words spoken with Kurt's exaggerated expression. A gentle blush crept onto both her and Marcus' faces as their eyes locked.

Kurt attempted to smother a giggle of delight at the cuteness of the situation. It felt somewhat like being a bridesmaid, living vicariously through his friend's moment.

The sound of children squealing as they ran towards the playground nearby broke Mercedes and Marcus out of their romantic reverie.

The three teenagers spent a number of hours hanging out that afternoon at the picnic table chatting between each other with Kurt frequently helping Marcus to translate things for Mercedes benefit. Kurt realized that after a time Marcus had purposely distracted Mercedes into a conversation with Kurt and had subtly taken her hand across the table.


	6. Chapter 6

...

Blaine felt the music flowing up through his fingers and his feet where they met with the piano. It didn't always happen but whenever he was involved in an emotional piece or when he was feeling something intensely it would always come through in the way he felt the music. Absorbed in the emotion of the John Lennon tune as he was, he was also aware of the obvious reaction of the performer, Marcus. Standing to Blaine's side with his hand resting on the top of the piano lid absorbed in his own emotional experience. The bubble that the two performers had existed in during that intense performance burst when Marcus' sudden change of expression caused Blaine to turn to see the cause.

A vision of irate perfection stood in the doorway with a sharp look focused at Marcus. Blaine couldn't believe that he had missed noticing someone that looked as stunning as the fair skinned boy before him. He shook himself out of his fixated gaze when Marcus and this new boy began speaking about some girl named Mercedes. It was obviously a personal conversation with the gorgeous boy seeming very protective and attached to this girl. Trying to be polite and subtle, Blaine gathered up the music sheets and acknowledged Marcus' farewell before the two boys left the room still in tense communication. Blaine paused briefly on the piano stool collecting his scattered thoughts and trying to bring himself back to reality, it wouldn't do any good to start dreaming about another unattainable, uninterested guy. That would be asking for all sorts of trouble.

...

Sitting in the driver's seat of his car, Blaine drifted out of yet another day dream of this boy who had inconveniently taken residence in his imagination since the day he had seen him at Haverbrook. It seemed entirely fruitless to continue entertaining these thoughts, but it was beyond his powers to be able to stop.

The bell above the door jingled as Blaine entered the café for the first time, it had been suggested by some of the music students he had met at Haverbrook. Scanning the room, checking the layout and glancing over the other customers present, Blaine was surprised to spot a friendly face and stepped in his direction to greet him. Approaching the table he couldn't believe his eyes when they fell on the boy who had been haunting his day dreams. He was in conversation with several unrecognized faces and the one familiar face of Marcus. Blaine caught Marcus' eye and the table's attention turned to take in the new face. Introductions were made and Blaine shared a warm smile with everyone at the table, feeling his eyes drawn back to the fair skinned boy who he now knew to be Kurt. After a few minutes of smalltalk Blaine noticed the counter line had diminished, sharing a final smile and regretful farewell with the group who looked so cozy crowded into the booth seat. While waiting for his order he took subtle looks over at the table again, observing that Marcus and Kurt now seemed on good terms, but that Kurt was obviously very cozy with his girlfriend Mercedes, which made his heart sink somewhat.

As he walked out the door with his filled coffee order a couple of moments later, Blaine's inner voice continued to verbally abuse the idealistic side of himself for falling for another straight guy. 'Your track record really sucks Blaine. Can't believe you're so stupid falling for another guy you can't have….'


	7. Chapter 7

The next day Kurt was wandering down the corridor with Mike and Tina at the beginning of their lunch break. Practicing sign language, the three conversed about random goings on in their classes, when a bulky jock shoulder barged Kurt into the line of lockers that they were walking past. Mike yelled after the receding red jacket as Tina dropped down at Kurt's side checking him over in concern. Kurt slowly got to his feet as he reassured his outraged friends.

Tina's concern stayed with her through her next classes until she suddenly had a revelation. She remembered having heard Marcus mention the connection between Haverbrook and Dalton and how both schools had a no tolerance policy towards bullying or aggression from their students. Tina would love for Kurt to be free of the constant danger and torment that he had been experiencing at McKinley. Even though they all had to deal with slushies' and insults Kurt had clearly become the bully's favorite target. She hoped that Kurt could have a chance to see that there were safe and accepting places in the world and that it wasn't any fault of his that many bullies felt the need to vent their tormenting behavior on him. While she considered this bright possibility for Kurt to escape she felt a twinge of sadness of perhaps losing the presence of her brave friend.

Dashing out of the class when the bell rang, she went in search of Rachel in the music room, this being her usual hideout. As expected Rachel stood at the piano going through vocal warm ups and scales. Clearing her throat to catch Rachel's attention, Tina got straight to the point, following her thought out plan. It didn't take long to convince Rachel that it was a good idea to send someone to spy on their newly announced choir competitors, The Warblers. Tina pretended to ponder who would be the right candidate, listing the suitable qualities for this spy mission. Rachel quickly answered by volunteering herself true to form, to which Tina 'sadly' reminded her that Dalton was an all-boys school. After a seconds pause Rachel beamed and announced Kurt was the perfect candidate. Secretly congratulating herself on a perfectly executed plan, Tina praised Rachel for her quick thinking and leadership skills, ensuring she remained unsuspecting. Shortly after, Tina left Rachel to continue practicing and allowed herself a satisfied smile, knowing that it wouldn't take long for their 'brilliant leader' to make some announcement.

* * *

The New Direction members were settling into their seats for their afternoon session when Rachel stepped up and took centre stage.

"Attention please! I have an announcement… As we all know it's not long until our next competition and it's time we get serious about preparation."

"Slow your roll princess, its months away." Santana interrupted snarkily, rolling her eyes. Ignoring Santana's interruption Rachel carried on.

"To be effective in any competition one must know their opponent, I propose that we send a member of New Directions on a spying mission and Kurt, I think you would be perfect to go and investigate The Warblers. Don't worry, I already have your directions and alibi arranged. You'll pose as a prospective new student, infiltrate the grounds and find out what sort of competition we face."

Kurt had the expression of a stunned fish in response to Rachel's sudden announcement. She seemed completely oblivious as he mouthed silent protest while she continued to issue instructions. It was only with Mr Schue's arrival that Rachel promptly finished her speech and took her seat, realizing their well-meaning teacher would likely strongly disagree with her brilliant plan.


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt edged his way along a temporarily quiet corridor, marveling at the grand architecture of the building, admiring the murals and portraits lining the walls of Dalton Academy. Nothing about this place held any resemblance to the shabby, cheap and chaotic hallways of McKinley, which were constantly lined with posters, notice boards and slogans. His contemplative frame of mind was abruptly interrupted by the shrill school bell as a sea of uniformed clad teenage boys poured forth from doors on all sides, causing Kurt to shrink back against a wall. As the majority of the crowd dispersed Kurt joined the general flow of students who seemed to largely be heading in the same direction. It seemed there was going to be some significant student event held shortly.

A number of the students seemed to be chatting excitedly about The Warblers performance and their entry into the upcoming choir competition. Kurt's ears perked up immediately, drawing closer to the group of boys who were particularly enthusiastic in their conversation, as they descended the main stairs.

Kurt was so engrossed in his eavesdropping that he hadn't noticed several boys who were coming down the stairs at speed. As the last in the group passed him, the boys elbow caught Kurt from behind, sending him stumbling forwards into the group he was tailing.

"Watch it David, you big goof!" Blaine called over the sound of the crowd at his friends departing back. Turning his attention immediately to the warm solid weight in his arms, Blaine realized that he had in fact caught the porcelain skinned boy of his daydreams. A passing thought of 'this is too good to be true' flitted across Blaine's consciousness.

The two boys shared a moment of wide eyed shock in which Kurt's cheeks took on a rosy pink coloring as Blaine helped him back to his feet. Kurt started mumbling out a panicked apology as he agitatedly smoothed out his jacket and flung his bag back over his shoulder. A confident and friendly smile appeared on Blaine's face, "Sorry about my friend… are you okay? I hope you didn't get hurt."

Kurt's continued flustered and mildly panicked look caused Blaine to extend his hand reflexively, "I'm Blaine".

When their hands met Kurt momentarily went still in shock, followed by a deeper blush.

"I'm on my way to The Warbler's performance." This seemed to bring Kurt somewhat out of his state of shock so Blaine continued talking.

"Follow me, I know a short cut."

It was only when they got to a crowded and energetic room filled with what seemed like half the school population that Kurt's hand was released.

"Excuse me, I have to go and join my group" Blaine said, stepping to the front of the formation gathered in the impromptu stage area.

Kurt was spellbound for the entire performance, his hand stayed tightly closed, in hopes of retaining the warmth and pleasant sensation of connection that he had temporarily felt from the presence of Blaine Warblers hand.

As the song came to a close and the two boys locked eyes Kurt felt that this could be his own opportunity to learn some new signs, as his eyes continued to follow the boy moving amongst his friends.


End file.
